Empty
by clairlz
Summary: What happens when Beth runs and Mick lets her after Sleeping Beauty. rated M for later chapters
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer...All characters belong to CBS...not mine...just for entertainment...don't sue me... :)**

**This is rated M for language most of the time, sex and violence some of the time.**

**This was one of my very first stories. I've finally gotten around to going back and hopefully fixing all the tense, and punctuation errors. It should be much easier to read.  
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Beth is running down the hall to her apartment. She almost drops her key's trying to get the door open. She barley gets into the bathroom in time to empty what little she has in her stomach into the toilet. She sinks down and lays her head on the cold tile floor. God she feels so awful. No sleep or food and to much caffeine. This has been going on for a week. Ever since she started having night terrors about Mick. Some times they were just nightmares that she couldn't remember later but last night she had ended up hugging her knees and rocking back and forth almost in a trance. She has a desperate feeling that some thing is wrong with Mick. Beth gets up and cleans herself off. Slowly like a sleepwalker she crosses the apartment and flops down on her couch. She grabbed her shoes off her feet and throws them across her living room in frustration.

Mo had watched her at work most of the day. Beth could feel her eyes on her and finally she had told Beth to just go home until she was feeling better. So here she is trying to figure out what to do. She knows after last night she has to contact Mick no matter how much it will hurt to face what she did to him. She is mentally preparing herself for the real possibility that he has come to loath her. She thinks she can even deal with that if she knows he is alive and well.

It has been such a long week…. hell, a long couple of months, ever since…New York. Ever since she had walked away from Mick and come back to Josh. She is ashamed to admit now that she had run to Josh out of fear, not love. Seeing Sara's reality had scared her badly. In the end she had run out on Mick and back to her human existence.

She had every intention of rebuilding the relationship she had convinced herself she and Josh had before Mick had entered her life. At first Josh was so relieved to find that he hadn't lost her to Mick that he treated her like he had when they first started dating. Beth pushed Mick and all that went with him to the back of her mind and concentrated on her relationship with Josh. It went well for a couple of weeks. They tried to make time for each other in their busy schedules. Beth felt like they both were making every effort but it just wasn't enough. Soon they had fallen back into their old patterns. They couldn't even sustain the spark longer than two weeks, and then it was back to the usual. Once a week movie night and warm bed to share afterward and that was about it. After about three weeks of that Beth realized it was pretty pathetic and put the relationship out of its misery once and for all. She and Josh just didn't love each other, or at least they weren't in love with each other. Josh half-heartedly tried to blame Mick but he finally admitted that they just made better friends than lovers. Even the relationship ended without a spark.

Beth thought ruefully._ That's what you get for playing it safe. No guts no glory._ If she'd only had the strength to faced Mick, but she didn't. To make matters worse Mick had, in his gentlemanly way stepped aside and let her go. When he got back to L.A., he had only called once. He left her a voice mail telling her he was back and if she ever needed anything to call him. He never said good-bye but you could hear it in his voice. He was letting her go. He made it easy for her to run from him. _Damn him_. The fates hadn't even intervened this time.

She wants to call Mick in the worst way. She misses that wonderful lopsided grin of his so badly. Thinking of what she'd lost with him ate at her. She wants to reach out to him…but what if he refuses to see her…. what if he hates her now and that's why she is having nightmares about him…what if she is still scared? She doesn't want to fail him again. She realizes right then that she loves him and has to find out how he is, even if there is no chance for them. She will wait till tonight when he will be awake and then see if she can find him.

Beth knows that if they find their way back to each other again she will; in the end succumb to the allure of eternity. It is the only way she will truly be happy with Mick. If she can get over the fear of what happened to Sara, it will be ok. If he still wants her it has to be all the way. She will lay it out for him; there will be no half measures. She doesn't have to be turned now but one day she has to be allowed to have that option open to her. He has to come to grips with that. She doesn't know what he will say to that. He hates what he is so much. She sighs. It is all so complicated. One thing she knows that isn't complicated is that she does love him and she always will.

Beth orders some food to be delivered and then goes in and changes clothes. She will eat and then rest. She doesn't want to fall apart before she ever sees him. In the bathroom she looks in the mirror. She looks like hell and she knows it. Hopefully some food and sleep will help. She changes into her sweats and a t-shirt and put her hair up in a ponytail. She'll take a shower after she eats and then try and get some sleep. Now that she has a plan she is starting to feel a little better.

When she hears the knock on the door she opens it without even looking through the peephole to see who it is. She just assumes it is the deliveryman with her food. So she is very surprised to find Josef at her door.

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	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Owned by CBS, Not owned by me….Just for entertainment….please don't sue**

**Rated M for language most all the time, sex and violence some of the time.**

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_When she hears the knock on the door she opens it without even looking through the peephole to see who it is. She just assumes it is the deliveryman with her food. So she is very surprised to find Josef at her door_

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Beth just stares at him dumbfounded. The last time she'd seen him was in N.Y. Seeing Josef with Sara had given her a new respect for him and she had a soft spot for the old vampire.

If he had shown up at her door a few weeks ago she would have probably just stood there and cried but with the distance from the events she was coming to grips with what had happened to Sara. It is why she feels so heartsick over leaving Mick.

"Well, Buzzwire, going to invite me in?" He smiles, trying to look disarming she thinks but the smile stops before it gets to his eyes. Something is wrong.

Beth moves from in front of the door "Sure. Come on in Josef."

Josef looks down at her. She looks like hell. He can see that she is running on caffeine and little sleep. Good. He thinks. She deserves to feel like crap after what she did to Mick.

Beth can see in his eyes that he is pissed. She thinks he is on the edge of showing her his fangs. That is not a good sign.

Maybe he has some news on how Mick is doing, what she can expect when she finds him. Even if Mick is with someone else she wants to hear that he is happy.

Josef wanders into her little apartment, looking around. It is so…contemporary. He thinks

Josef wheels around and looks at her. "So, I hear the thing with the DA didn't pan out."

Beth scrunches up her nose at him. She wonders how he knows that. "Josef, are you keeping tabs on me?"

"Matter of fact…." Is all he says.

Beth looks at him in surprise. "Why? Why would you do that Josef? I'm just a human." She says rather sarcastically. Suddenly thinking of Sara she feels bad. "I'm sorry. That wasn't called for."

"No, your right. I've never been your biggest fan. Between your job and your relationship with Mick you seemed like too much of a risk. I was afraid it would end badly and guess what I was right. Just not the way I thought." He's just as sarcastic as she is.

Quickly she says. "How badly? Aside from me being miserable is Mick ok?" He just keeps looking at her.

She knows he heard her. He is choosing not to answer so she tries another tack. "Why are you keeping tabs on me?"

"At first I didn't. I didn't realize you were going to run out on Mick. I didn't realize Mick was going to go crazy. I didn't realize that everything was going to fall apart."

Beth watches as Josef starts to pace around her small living room. He's like a caged cat, a big dangerous caged cat. Now and then she hears him growl as he gathers his thoughts.

"Beth, we have a problem, a big problem."

"We have a problem?" she asks.

"Look, I need your help. Mick needs your help."

Beth starts to feel like she's going to throw up again. Josef never asks for help, especially from her. It must be bad. "Josef, you know I'll do whatever you ask. Sit down and tell me what you need, what he needs…."

There is a knock at the door. Finally, Beth thinks, the delivery guy. Beth goes to the door and much to Josef's annoyance again she doesn't look out to see who is at the door before she opens it. He crosses the room in a flash of speed and looks around the door. He sees who it is and hands the man a hundred dollar bill. Beth smiles at Josef and takes her food. The delivery guy looks down at the money and smiles. He gives Josef a little salute and takes off.

"Do you always do that? No wonder you drive my security guys crazy. You're reckless. I think in the back of your mind you're so use to Mick being there to bail you out that you don't take normal human precautions. "

Beth is sitting on the couch digging through the take out. "What are you talking about?" she's starting to get annoyed with him.

"You didn't even look first to make sure that wasn't some drugged out freak out in the hallway. You did the same thing when I knocked."

Beth spreads the take out on the coffee table She looks up at him. "Look I'm starving. I haven't been sleeping very well and I'm running on caffeine and that's about it. If you don't want me throwing up on your nice tailored suit you'll let me eat. I'll eat and you talk. You'll love it. No interruptions till the end. You can make all the smart-ass comments you like. Just get to the point and tell me how Mick is and what I can do to help." Beth looks up at him waiting for him to speak.

Josef snorts at her. "I'm probably going to have to ask you some questions. Think you can answer around the mushu goo whatever and the chop sticks?"

"Yea, I think I can manage." Beth tells him dryly.

Josef goes back to pacing and begins his story. "So, lets see, when you last saw our intrepid hero he was standing in the streets of N.Y. with his heart in his hands so you could stick a stake in it."

Beth looks down, too ashamed to face Josef. She thinks of that wonderful look on Mick's face when she left him. He was so excited and so happy. He was finally ready to open up to her. Josef is right. She might as well of stuck a stake in him. She wants to cry but holds it in. She will not fall apart...

Softly she hears Josef say "Well, it's been down hill ever since."

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	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer-Owned by CBS…not mine…just for entertainment….love ********this show. **

**Rated M for language most all the time, sex and violence some of the time.**

**I'm going to post chapter 4 right behind this. I think the story picks up in 4.**

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_Softly she hears Josef say "Well, it's been down hill ever since."_

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Beth snaps her head up and looks at Josef. "You're suppose to tell me he's happy. You're suppose to tell me he found a vampire that will make him happy."

"Oh, he found a vampire to be with alright." Josef spits out. "I'm sure as hell not going to call it happy. Thanks to you he found his way back to an even better form of self-destruction. He's taken self loathing to all new heights. After all if you couldn't love him he must be the monster he thought he was all along. He found his way back to his lovely wife." Josef can't help but throw some of his anger at Beth. He knows his own guilt is what's fueling it.

"Oh, and did I mention that there is no permanent cure, no big surprise there. When you staked her it triggered whatever she had done to herself and once again she is the miserable vampire bitch that Mick loved so long ago. The real question is, how long it will take him to kill her again. That cycle of mutual destruction can't go on for long. Not that I would mind that, but I think this time he may find a way to take himself with her and I'm not quite ready to lose a good friend."

Josef looks down and watches Beth hugging her knees and crying.

Josef goes over and sit in a chair across from her. He just waits for her to pull herself together. If she can't pull whatever reserves she's got to even hear what's happened then she will be no use to him in pulling Mick back from the hell he's dove into. "Good grief. I kept hearing for months how strong and stubborn you are and here you are bawling like a baby. You're no use to me or Mick." And he gets up to leave.

The words penetrate the sorrow and she quickly stands up to stop him. In her hurry to stop Josef she bangs her shin on the table and starts swearing and holding her leg. Josef turns around to a very angry woman. "You get your ass back in here and you tell me exactly what the hell has happened to Mick. Damn it Josef. Do I need to say it out loud for you? Yes, I blew it. Yes, I feel terrible. Please stop twisting the damn knife."

Josef looks at her and sees the fire in her eyes. "Now that's much better." He says. "You may be able to pull him out of this mess yet."

Once again Beth is watching Josef pace. "Can't you talk and sit? It's like watching a caged tiger."

Josef flashes his fangs at her. "And don't you forget it."

Josef wonders at this need of his to make her feel worse than she already does. "No, I can't just sit. This whole thing is pissing me off. Waiting for one of you to come to your senses has not been my idea of fun. I don't put this much effort into my own love life and here the two of you have me playing cupid to a vampire and a human." Josef breaks the tension with a small smile. He needs her in one piece he thinks he better reign in his temper. His senses tell him that her lack of food and sleep has her on a precarious edge.

"After you left N.Y. I stayed for another week. I'm not sure how long Mick stayed."

Beth breaks in waving chop sticks in the air as she talks "He stayed two days after I left. He called me when he got back."

Josef nods. "When I got back I called him up, let him know I appreciated his saving me and Sara from the hit man. I asked him when he was seeing you again, so he could bring you by so I could thank you for Sara's diary. He told me he wasn't seeing you again, ever. He said you'd gone back to Josh. At first I thought this was probably best for everyone, but he sounded gloomier than usual so I didn't say anything, I just let it go."

"Soon I started hearing reports that he wasn't acting in his best interests or anyone else's. He was hunting rogue vampires without any sort of back up. From the eyewitness reports I got he was being reckless and was lucky to be alive. I got a report from The Cleaner that he had a close call with the cops and was almost arrested. As you can imagine, jail is not a vampire friendly place. I went to see him with a case. I thought it would distract him until he came around. No use. I couldn't get anything from him but open hostility. Part of him blames me for your leaving and of course he blames himself. So he lost the girl he loves and his best friend in one shot."

"I know Mick well enough to know why he blames himself. I'm the one person he should blame. Josef, why would he blame you?" Beth couldn't understand that.

"Your about the only one he doesn't blame." Josef says

Beth waits for him to continue and she notices that he keeps looking anywhere but at her. "A couple of times he came to me, the four hundred year old vampire who might have a clue, to get advice on how he could make this thing you two have, work. As I recall all he got were smart-ass answers that weren't meant to be of any help. When we did finally have a sort of discussion on the subject it was to late. You went off to LAX about half hour later. Maybe if I'd faced my demons about Sara sooner I could have given him some real advice. Maybe I could have actually been a friend and tried to help him sooner. Maybe he wouldn't be where he is now. Lots of Maybes…" Josef shakes his head sadly.

Beth feels like her heart is breaking but she's intent on keeping herself together, for Mick's sake. She will do anything for him. She let him down; they'd both let him down.

Josef watches her and sees a small tremor in her hands. He hopes she's going to be all right. He needs her to hold it together. He continues. "When I last saw him he was in bad shape and his judgment is way off, worse than when he's around you." Josef says with a small smile.

"That's when I started to worry about you. I realized when he said he wasn't going to see you he meant it. He wasn't even watching over you and he'd been doing that since you where what, four? It worried me. I knew if he came out of it and something had happened to you he'd be right back to square one, so I have a special security detail that keeps tabs on you. Just like Mick use to do. Did you know you were almost mugged last week?"

Beth's mouth hangs open. She starts to tell him he didn't have to do that and she was fine but apparently she may not have been. "Thanks." She says weakly.

He nods. "Then last week I heard that he and Coralline had been seen together. I was glad I had the security detail in place then. She is dangerous and she is unpredictable. If for some reason she got it into her head that you needed to be dead, I'm sure she would try it. If she gets any inclination that Mick still loves you she may try and get to him by killing you. At this point he's so far gone I'm not sure what would happen. He may just try and take them both out to make sure you would be safe."

Beth is stunned. She feels like the life is draining out of her.

She hears Josef growl her name.

She snaps back at the sound. "I'm fine. I'm just trying to take it all in."

"About the same time I was getting reports on Mick and Coralline my security chief comes to me and tells me they saw Lindsey taking his stuff out of your apartment and that you had finally gotten rid of him once and for all. Shit Beth, you couldn't pick between that weak-kneed DA and Mick? Really?" Josef shakes his head.

"Yea, I know…hard to imagine." She says sadly.

"I decided it was time to come see if you were ready to get him back. Beth, do you love him? If you want him, if you want to spend however long, say forever with him then lets try and get him back where he belongs. If the answer is no or your still not sure, we might as well just let them self-destruct together and hope no one gets caught in the cross fire."

Josef looks over at her. He starts to become concerned. She looks like she's in physical pain. "Are you ok?"

"Yes. I'm just heart sick. Josef, yes, I love him and I'll stay with him forever. I'm just afraid he won't agree to forever."

"Look you can work on his 'I'm a monster' issues later. Right now top priority is to pry him away from Coralline. To my knowledge he hasn't hurt anyone but himself. If it were any vamp but Mick well, you know him and his morals, if he hurts an innocent it will speed his descent and Coralline will have her hooks in him for good. Coralline knows that as well and I'm sure she's pushing for just that. I don't know about the rest. I've tried for years to get him to see that being a vampire doesn't make him a monster but you've seen how far I've gotten. Maybe if you accept him for what he is it will be enough."

Beth starts for the bedroom to change. "Let me go get dressed and we'll go find him." Josef grabs her arm and spins her around.

"Absolutely not. You can't go anywhere near him as long as he's with Coralline."

"Josef I have to see him. How can I get him to come home if I'm not willing to go to him?"

"Beth, we need him to come to you. I think the only chance we have is if you call him for help. He spent so much time watching over you that I'm hoping it will jolt him to action. He has to come here. He has to believe you are in danger. I just can't protect you from Coralline and I can't rely on Mick to do it either."

"I think I need to just tell him the truth. I need to tell him how I feel. I know I can reach him. I know I can."

"I think it's better than he thinks you're in danger."

"Josef I don't know if I can make him think I'm in danger when I'm not."

"Beth if you need incentive to be afraid you think of him in that house with that crazy twisted bitch and what kind of mind games she's playing on him. You think about the fact that if she finally breaks him and he goes rouge I'll have to have him hunted down and executed. You think about losing him and see if your scared enough to make him believe you.

In the end they had compromised. After listening to Josef's tirade she was very scared. Josef hoped between the fear in her voice and her words of love Mick would snap out of it.

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	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Owned by CBS….not owned in anyway by me….just for entertainment. Love the show.**

**Rated M for language most all the time, sex and violence some of the time. **

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_In the end they had compromised. After listening to Josef's tirade she was scared. Josef hoped between the fear in her voice and her words of love Mick would snap out of it._

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Mick and Coralline are going at each other. She's throwing things at him and he's throwing things right back. They are screaming and yelling at each other, fangs and talons swiping at each other, both in full Vampire mode. It's a good thing vampires can't metabolize alcohol or one of them would be dead by now. Then somewhere in the din he hears his phone. He almost wants to laugh. Who on earth is left to call him? He made it plane to Josef he didn't want to hear from him ever again. Beth…Beth hadn't called him in weeks. She was with Josh and she didn't care anymore, if she ever had.

He ducks out of the way of a vase that is headed for him and takes out his phone. Beth's name flashes in the display. He looks at the phone stunned….Beth….suddenly his chest starts to ache. The pain at the thought of her was the first real sensation other than rage and anger he's had since she'd left. He knows he has to answer her. He has no choice. God he misses her so much.

Coralline keeps coming at him. She gets within range of his grasp and he grabs her by the throat flinging her across the room as hard as he can. She hits the wall and slowly slides down, rubbing her throat, she stays down and watches him. He flips open his phone and hears her voice.

"Mick?"

She sounds so scared. He thinks. He can hear so much even through the phone. Her breathing is ragged. He can hear her pulse racing.

"Beth, what is it? What's wrong?' His whole focus turns from Coralline to the phone in his hand.

"Mick I'm scared. I'm having terrible nightmares that you're hurt. I miss you so much. I'm so afraid without you. Please come home. Please come back to me. You're the only man I've ever loved." Josef was right. The description of Mick's life with Coralline was enough to scare her plenty.

He can hear her crying as the words pour out. "Mick, will you come to me? Please say you still love me. I've missed you so much." And she keeps at it as long as the phone line is open. She pours out her heart to him and begs him to forgive her. At times she isn't even sure he is still there but she keeps at it, hoping he will respond. Then she hears him. "I love you too. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Mick flips the phone closed and smiles at the phone in his hand, Coralline all but forgotten.

Coralline has been watching him and could hear the conversation. The idea of Mick, her Mick going back to that human is intolerable. She will kill them both first.

Mick hears Coralline snarling at him. He looks up to tell her to go to hell. He can see by the rage in her face that it is going to be a very long night.

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Beth shuts her phone. The connection is broken. Josef looks at her as she smiles brightly through the tears. "He's coming home. He said he loves me and he's coming home as soon as he can. Josef can you stay till he gets here?" Josef watches her stand up and she begins to sway back and forth and Josef realizes he better do some damage control.

"Yea, I'll stay. I want to see him. Mick has been a royal pain but you know, in four hundred years he's one of about three good friends I've ever had. I'd like to make sure he's ok too."

Josef points to the food. "Eat." He commands. "You might as well finish eating while we're waiting for him, then you can take a shower. You're no good to anyone in this shape."

Beth sits down to the cold food and starts to eat. She doesn't even care what it tastes like. She just needs to feel better. Finally she's full. Without a word she heads off to the shower. When she's done she puts on her jeans and a t-shirt that Mick always says looks nice on her. She and Josef stare across the small room at each other lost in their own thoughts. He realizes it's much later than he thought. He notices that Beth can barley keep her eyes open. "Get some sleep. You know he'll wake you when he gets here. You can sleep right here on the couch."

Beth knows Josef is right and she lets sleep take her.

Josef watches her sleep. She is hugging herself and mumbling Mick's name. He hears her crying out for him. This must be the reason she hasn't been sleeping. This is more than just worry on her part. Josef thinks that the timing of her nightmares starting when Mick went back to Coralline can't be a coincidence. After several hours of fitful sleep Beth finally calms down. Josef watches her face and sees the tension and worry leave her. She finally seems to be sleeping peacefully. He hopes it's a good sign.

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Mick wakes up and tries to remember where he is and tries to figure out what time it is. He thinks he must have lost a day. He is so tired he doesn't even want to open his eyes. All he can smell is blood, lots of blood in the air. The last few weeks hit him in a series of flashbacks. He remembers the knock down drag out fights. Some things never change he thinks. This is just like the old days, crazy fights. She loves to push him and push him until he goes nuts. The only difference he can tell is that she has to push harder because for the most part he just doesn't give a damn about much of anything. Not himself and certainly not her. He feels so empty without Beth. It infuriates Coralline that he has no interest in sharing her bed. The only emotion he has left is blind rage. He's lost the one person he loved because Coralline made him a monster. He doesn't even know why he was here except that he figures they deserve each other.

He groans and rolls over. He is laying on the couch in the living room. Last night comes flooding back to him. It had gotten really ugly. He remembers the rest of it. Beth called, his Beth. She had called and told him to come home, that she loved him and begged him to forgive her. It was like someone had chased the darkness out of his heart. He decides to end the mess with Coralline so he can go home.

Coralline is finally getting the idea that he isn't there for her and never would be. She keeps attacking him. She won't let him go without a fight. They are at each other throats and he realizes she is leading him into the downstairs. He'd stayed away from that area of the house because he knows from what Beth said it was where Coraline had kept her as a child. He knows if he goes down there it will be the last straw. He isn't quite ready to face those demons. Coralline just isn't satisfied with the responses she's getting. Hearing him say he is going home to Beth enrages her. So, she keeps attacking and keeps at him and down the stairs they go until they are in the room where she had kept Beth.

When he looks around the room it makes him physically ill. No wonder Beth staked Coralline. What must it have been like for her to see this and finally remember it after all these years?

Coralline taunts him about Beth. Telling him Beth will never love a monster. Then she does something stupid. Coraline swears to make sure that Beth never sees another daybreak. She tells him how easy it will be to slowly drain Beth and then crush her throat. Coralline says she will take care of the mistake she made 22 years ago. If she can't have Mick she will make sure he can't have Beth.

They play out there rolls. He finally stakes her just like before. This time though there will be no fire. He goes to his car. His weapons chest is in the trunk He gets out his machete, the one that he used on Shepherd. One way or the other there will be no more threats to Beth.

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	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Owned by CBS….Not mine….only for Entertainment….Love the show...**

**Rated NC-17 for violence**

**This chapter is rather violent and bloody…...**

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Mick feels the heft of the machete in his hand. It feels good. He spins it around in his hand to feel the balance. He had this made for his hands so the weight and balance fit him and his fighting style well. It's an alloy made with high-grade silver to enhance its ability to kill vampires. He only uses it when he has to. The blade is large enough to do a lot of damage but the over all length is short enough to hide easily. It is honed to a deadly sharpness and the weight is heavy enough to carry through most any flesh and bone.

He enters the house and he's sure she's loose from the staking. He is afraid she has gotten past him and is going to carry out her threats. He realizes he still smells her somewhere in the house. He goes looking for her with the machete hidden in the folds of his duster. He isn't taking any chances. He is shaking off his death wish and he is going to end this chapter of his life once and for all.

Mick walks slowly through the house. She's somewhere close. He can feel her presence. The blade is concealed between his arm and his side. He's ready for her. It ends here. He looks around at the devastation of the past week disgusted with himself for even being here. Sure he'd thought he'd lost Beth but even that can't excuse his being here with Coralline. In the past these fights were fueled by passion, now it was just rage and hatred. Mick knows in his heart what real love feels like and this isn't it.

He slowly descends the stairs.

He feels the hair on the back of his neck as he stands in the middle of the room. He swings around and there she is in all her horrific glory, there is no humanity in her eyes, only the predator. He joins her, as his eyes turn white.

Watching her he realizes he feels nothing for her. He's measuring her up as he would any rogue vampire to look for her weaknesses, looking for an opening. She comes at him all claws and fangs extended, aiming straight for his neck. He dodges out and away from her. He almost gets by her unscathed but she turns faster than he anticipates and manages to run her claws across his side. He feels the tearing of clothing and a burning sensation from his skin. He can feel the blood soaking what he has left of the clothing around the wound.

They circle each other. He watches her closely. He has never seen Coralline in a real battle other than when he saved Beth and that wasn't a fight as much as madness. This should be much easier without a small child to defend. He sees for the first time that she is not really skilled at fighting. She lunges at him again only to come up empty. Every time she lunges for him she leaves herself wide open. In her rage she's only thinking of one thing, killing him. This time when she comes around at him he dodges the other way and again she misses him and at the last second he swings the machete out and up catching her in the stomach with the silver blade. He pushes it in farther and pulls up. A terrifying scream comes forth. She knows she's done. She bends and grabs the hilt. He easily pulls the blade back and as she falls he spins around and with a downward stroke of the blade he takes her head. There will be no more resurrections.

She threatened Beth and he had no doubt she would carry the threat out. Coralline didn't have the sense to learn from the last time what he would do for Beth. He goes upstairs and collapses. He lays there covered in her blood trying to decide what to do next…. what to do next…he tries to get up. He needs to get out of there and get home but he is so exhausted after the fight. The blood loss finally gets to him and he passes out. He has not been feeding as he should and he does not readily heal. The healing is progressing but much slower.

Now that he's awake he realizes he must have been out for quite some time. He can still feel the sting in his side. He feels the wound and it's still not completely healed. There are things that have to done before he can go home. For the first time in his life he calls for a cleanup.

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Josef has been sitting here waiting for hours and Josef is not good at waiting. Mick should have been here by now.

It's twilight when Beth finally wakes. She's been asleep for hours, some of it peaceful. She scans the room for Mick and only sees a very worried Josef.

"Mick should have been her by now. You talked to him in the middle of last night, day has come and gone and we are at twilight again."

"He'll be ok. He has to be ok…..." Josef isn't sure if she knows something or she's just trying to convince both of them that Mick is going to make it home.

Beth is in the other room when Josef's phone starts to vibrate. He looks down and it's The Cleaner. He answers knowing this can't be good.

"Victoria?"

"Josef, we just got a call from a man that may be St. John. I didn't talk to him and my new recruit didn't ask for a name." She's pissed. Josef thinks. He would not want to be who ever took the call.

"The thing is the cleanup is to be done at Coralline's old place in the hills. I thought you'd want to know. It's going to take us a good 20 minutes to get out there. Do you want to meet us?"

"Yes. I'll be there. Victoria, are you still arming the crew?"

"Of course Josef. Why?"

"I'm bringing Mick's human with me and if he's dead and Coralline is still alive I may need some help keeping her from killing Beth."

"Josef, if Mick is dead and Coraline is still alive, I will be doing two cleanups no matter what happens. For all Mick's issues he's one of the best of us, and Coralline one of the worst. She isn't walking away from this." Josef smiles darkly into the phone. Someday he'll have to figure out what it is with Mick and women. They always seem to care for him a great deal. Victoria has always treated Mick like a younger brother. She would make short work of Coralline.

"Call me when you get there. I don't want to go in there ahead of you with Beth in the car."

"We'll do." And she breaks the connection.

Josef calls down to the security man watching Beth's apartment. "I need your SUV. I'll meet you down stairs. You take the Ferrari and go on back to the office. I think it's about over."

Beth comes through the door from the kitchen. Josef throws her coat at her. "Put it on. Lets go. I think we've found Mick." Beth gets the coat on, grabs her purse and follows Josef out the door.

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The Cleaner flips open her phone and hits redial. "We're here. No recon yet." And she snaps the phone shut. Victoria and her crew pull up to Coralline's house. They don't see any signs of life but that doesn't mean Coralline isn't lurking somewhere. Victoria positions her headset and does a test to make sure everyone can hear her. "Ok heads up boys and girls. This could get nasty. If St. John is here I want to know right away and what condition he is in. Samantha, do you have extra provisions in case he's hurt?"

"Extra 3 units for the P.I. if he needs it." Comes the reply.

"Everyone is armed?" she receives affirmatives from all of her crew.

"Don't shoot on site but if you see anyone don't let them get the drop on you. Coralline is very dangerous and if she's killed Mick I want her dead. This becomes an execution first, then a double cleanup. Lets go. Fan out"

The doors on the 2 white vans open quickly and the six of them fan out to see what dangers lie in the dark.

"Crystal, what kind of readings are you getting?"

Crystal looks down at her display. "No heat signatures at all boss. No humans around."

"Good, one less problem to worry about. No live witnesses."

"James, George, go around and enter from the back. As I recall there is a downstairs entrance. Go in from the bottom and Henry and I will go in from top front. Everyone else stand ready outside. She doesn't get past us. Anyone finds anything sing out."

Silently they enter the house. Victoria scans the devastation. "Be careful. With all this wreckage, this could easily be a trap."

All of them smell the blood. It's so strong they are having trouble getting a fix on any other smells. One thing Victoria and the crew know is it's not human blood. It's vampire blood.

"I've got a body." Victoria hears from James through the headset.

"Who is it?" She asks.

"Until I find the head, all I can tell you is it's female."

"God I hope it's Coralline. Ok boys, now lets find St. John and make sure he's ok." Victoria says softly.

Hearing this Mick walks in from the kitchen and looks at Victoria "I'm here. It's Coralline in the downstairs." Victoria swings her gun around and trains it on Mick. The red laser site shows the middle of his chest.

Victoria sees Mick and lets out the breath she didn't know she was holding. She points the barrel of the gun down at the ground. "Damn it. St. John you should have said something sooner. You almost got shot. So Coralline is dead. Is there anyone else lurking around I should know about?"

Mick looks down. "No, no one else. I was afraid Josef had told you to take care of any…. live problems still up and moving, while you were here."

Victoria walks over and slugs him in the mouth as hard as she can. She's a four hundred year old vampire in full fighting trim so she moves fast. "You bastard. It's pretty bad when you've pushed it so far your afraid, Josef has sent me out to do an execution on you. Don't you ever make this big of a mess again or so help me……." She trails off

"Everyone stand down and start the cleanup." She tells her crew.

Victoria puts out her hand to Mick and helps him up. "How are you? I've got some extra blood if you need it. You look like hell."

"Yea, that would be nice."

"Samantha, get in here with the provisions."

"On my way boss."

Samantha runs in and hands Mick 2 units of blood.

Victoria watches Mick rub his jaw and he starts to drink from the bags. "Hope you're jaw hurts." She says.

He can tell she's still mad at him. He can't really blame her.

Victoria doesn't know how to tell him this but it has to be done. "When we get things cleaned up so there will be no body to find we're going to torch the place. I know that once upon a time you were actually married to her and lived here. I hope you can understand why we have to do it."

Smiling Mick tell her, "Burn it to the ground. It won't bother me a bit. I know you can't take any chance of the cops getting any ideas about what happened here. With this much blood there is no way you can cover every square inch."

Victoria smiles when she hears this "The cops are to good these days, with their chemicals and their tests. In a case like this it's just easier to remove the body so they don't find anything in a ash analysis and burn the rest to the ground, especially in an isolated place like this."

"Just don't let it get away from you. They really will investigate if you start a wild fire or get caught in it yourselves."

"No problem. Since there isn't any pressure of the police at this point we will probably wait a day or so to make sure there won't be any high winds. The crew has a healthy respect for fire and we are getting awfully good at making them look like wiring malfunction." She smiles. "Henry was a fire investigator back east until he was turned. He's very good at making it look accidental."

"By the way, Josef is on his way in with your human."

"Beth? Josef is bringing Beth…here?"

Victoria looks at the stupid smile on his face and lets out a small laugh. "Man, you've got it bad."

Then she turns serious again. "What the hell are you going to do when she dies? If you're this messed up and she's still alive…." Victoria shakes her head sadly. "I don't want to have to be going through this crap with you again in another 50 or 60 years."

Mick takes a deep breath "about that…maybe you and I need to have a conversation at a later date."

Victoria looks surprised and then smiles. "You just call me when she's ready."

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Finally they pull through the gate. The crew is coming out of the house with a body on a stretcher. Beth let out a gasp and before Josef can come to a full stop, she is flying out the car door and heading towards the clean up crew. It is dark and Beth can't see anything but a covered body on a stretcher. The Cleaner knows this has to be Mick's human, so she lets her pass. Beth is just about to look under the sheet to see who they are carrying on the stretcher when she feels a hand holding her wrist back. She looks up at the very tall woman all dressed in black leather.

The woman looks at Beth and smiles. "It's not him, he's fine." Beth smiles at her and then to Victoria's utter astonishment Beth hugs her. Victoria can see relief written all over her face. Then Beth hears his voice.

"Beth?" She swings around Victoria and runs to his arms. He smiles weakly "I thought I heard a heart beat out here." He had wanted to go home and clean up before he saw her. He is still covered in his and Coralline's blood. Now he is getting it all over Beth. He is afraid she will freak out if she realizes what it is.

Beth is trying to talk but nothing will come out. Mick holds her in his arms and rocks her back and forth. He feels her shaking. Mick looks into her eyes and leans in and kisses her. She immediately calms down and returns the kiss. She locks her arms around him and hugs him as tight as she can. She hears a quick intake of breath and realizes he's hurt. Beth steps back and looks at him, worry and concern written all over her face. "Where are you hurt? How come you're not healing? Show me?" she demands.

He turns and shows her the tatters of his clothing on his side. Deep welts are slowly starting to fade. "I hadn't had any blood in awhile and so I didn't heal like I should." Without hesitation Beth holds out her upturned wrist to him. He smiles at her but shakes his head. "Victoria had some extra blood for me. I've had 2 units and I'm healing fast now. I'll be fine in a few minutes." Beth runs her fingers over the welts and feels them dissolving. The relief at having him back and in one piece is overwhelming. She starts to feel dizzy and Mick catches her in his arms before she can fall to the ground.

Mick sees Josef walking towards them. "Look I know I've been a pain in the ass but I need a favor….." Mick swings her up in his arms so he can carry her.

Josef looks at Mick. " Your right you've been more trouble than you're generally worth but we'll worry about that later. What do you need me to do?"

Mick lets out a sigh of relief. Maybe Josef will forgive him. "Can you give us a lift back to my place? I need to sit and hold her and keep her warm. I'm afraid she might go into shock."

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	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Owned by CBS….Not mine….for entertainment only…love the show….**

**Rated M for language most all the time, sex and violence some of the time**

**This is the longest chapter I've written and I'd sure like to know if it just seems like I let the characters go on and on for nothing. **

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_Mick lets out a sigh of relief. Maybe Josef will forgive him. "Can you give us a lift back to my place? I need to sit and hold her and keep her warm. I'm afraid she might go into shock_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Josef nods. "Give me the keys to the Benz. It can't stay here. I'll have one of Victoria's guys drop it off."

Mick walks over to the SUV and gently lays Beth down. He quickly goes over to his car and takes out a blanket he keeps in back for the times when Beth is with him. Mick wraps her in the blanket and then scoots in and positioned her so he can hold her. Mick sits in the back with Beth snuggled up on his lap. He bends his head down and quietly tells her over and over how much he loves her and how much he's missed her. He gently brushes her hair from her eyes and does everything he can think of to make her comfortable. Finally the shaking subsides and her eyes start to clear. He's so intent on her face that Mick doesn't even notice as the car comes to a stop in front of his apartment.

Josef comes around and opens the back door. Mick starts to pick her up and he hears her say she can walk on her own. She gets out and Josef is holding on to Beth to keep her from falling. Mick gets out and picks her up. She stops protesting and buries her head in his shoulder, her arms around his neck. He starts through the garage and heads for the elevator to his apartment. Mick turns to Josef. "Can you come up for a little while?" Mick doesn't want his friend to leave right away.

"Sure."

They get into the apartment and Mick lays Beth down on the couch. She grabs hold of his hand and won't let him go. Mick sits down next to her and holds her hands. "I'm not going anywhere but upstairs. I….I have to get cleaned up before I can hold you anymore." He can see that he's gotten blood on her, Corallines blood. He doesn't want to point it out. He is afraid it will upset her.

Beth smiles up at him. "For right now, you're not going anywhere without me. Mick I'm fine."

Mick looks at Josef for help. Josef shrugs. "You might as well take her with you. She is going to need a shower and clean clothes anyway."

Mick decided that Josef is right so he picks her up and heads for the stairs. Josef pats him on the back. "It will be ok. Just take it slow and it will be ok." Mick looks down at Beth and he knows what Josef is talking about. "Call me when you both feel better. I'll lock up on my way out." Mick nods. He knows he has some fences to mend but it seems like things with Josef will be ok.

Mick walks up the stairs. He takes Beth into the bathroom and he lets her stand to just see how ok she really is. She grabs at the front of his shirt and tried to pull him into a kiss. He quickly takes her wrists and holds her away from him. He sees the blood staining her where he touches her. He watched the confusion cross her face and then her anger. "So help me Mick St. John if you think you are going to start running from me again, you have another thing coming."

She jerks away from him crossing her arms and waits for an answer. He looks down at her. "It's not that. I'm not going to leave you ever again. I…can't. "

"Then what?" She pleads.

The look on his face almost breaks her heart. He holds up his arms out away from his body. "Look at me Beth….I'm covered in blood." His voice is breaking. "I can't hold you, I can't get anymore of her blood on you. We both need showers." She looks down at herself and sees blood all over her clothes and can feel it on her where Mick has been holding her. He turns and reached into the shower. "I'll get the water running. You take a shower and then I will."

God she feels like a heartless bitch. She hadn't even stopped to wonder what he had been through. How he felt about killing his wife, again. She hadn't even asked him what had happened. "I'm so sorry….so sorry. You go first." And she turns and leaves the room. Mick gets undressed and drops all the bloody clothes on the floor and gets in the shower. He looks down and watches the blood mix with the water and go down the drain. It is finally over. He lets the water run down over his head and he cries. He cries with relief that Coralline is gone and cries because he had to kill her, again. He knows there had been no other choice. He doesn't know exactly what he feels. He just knows he's glad it's over for good this time.

He thinks he finally understands what Josef had been trying to tell him all these years. Being a vampire didn't make him a monster. It's what he does with it that will determine that. Coralline had done nothing but cause pain and heartache where ever she went. She gained her pleasure from torment. She was a monster and she had almost pulled him into her world. If he had succumbed this time there would have been no way out for him and he truly would have been that monster he feared. As had happened twenty-two years ago, Beth had pulled him out.

Mick gets himself under control and he scrubs every tiny bit of the blood away from his body. Finally he starts to feel clean again. He dries off and puts on a pair of sweat pants. He hears Beth's heartbeat coming from the bedroom no one uses. He wants her so badly but he has to know exactly where they stand and if they can work things out before he lets the last of the walls down. He gets dressed and knocks on the bedroom door. "The shower is all yours." He can hear her crying and he tries to open the door but it won't budge. "Beth?" She is sitting on the floor in front of the door.

"I'm ok," she says through the tears in a small voice. "I'll be fine…..ah Mick, do you think I could borrow a shirt or some sweats or something. I don't have any clothes with me beyond a change of underwear."

"Of course baby. Get in the shower and I'll bring you something." Mick lets the door go and heads downstairs. He goes to his closet and brings out a sweater that he knows will cling to her body. He smiles. It will be slow torture to watch her move in this. He can't think of anything that would even remotely fit her cute bottom of hers but he has an old pair of sweats she can put on. He takes the clothes up to the bathroom. He quietly slips in and lays the clothes out. Then he stuffs the bloody clothes into a large garbage bag. They will have to be burned. He slips in and out before she knows he is there. He knows if he doesn't do this fast he will take one look at her in the shower and he will end up joining her and he's not ready for that.

Mick calls for pizza to be delivered and makes her some coffee in the mean time. He cleans the small amount of blood that got on the couch before he took Beth upstairs.

He will have to start stocking some real food for her. He'll have to ask what she wants and make a list.

He hears her long before he sees her. She's walking funny trying to keep the pant legs up. She is half way down the stairs and trips over the to long sweat pants. He catches her before she ever has a chance to hit the stairs and hurt herself. He carried her over to the couch and lays her down. He sits down by her feet and gently rolls up the pant legs so she won't trip again. She just watches him without saying anything. He goes back to the kitchen and brings her a coffee and a glass of blood for himself.

Mick sits in the chair across from Beth. She notices his distance but he's been keeping that distance from her for so long she doesn't even bother to comment on it, not yet anyway.

He doesn't dare sit next to her. Hopefully this is the last time there will have to be distance between them. If they can get through this then they can always be together.

She's sipping her coffee and watches him with wide eyes. He sees the dark circles under her eyes. He wishes she could feel better as fast as he does. The blood he's taken in has already worked it's magic. Maybe someday she'll be willing to take the chance.

Mick looks down into the swirling glass of blood he's holding. Then he looks across at her. "I'm sorry." He says ever so softly.

Beth stares at him in confusion. He's sorry?….he's sorry?…finally she blurts out at him. "What are you sorry for? I'm the one who ran out on you because I didn't have the strength to look you in the face and tell you I was scared to death. If anyone should be sorry it's me."

"I knew you were scared of me…of Sara's plight, of everything to do with vampires and let you leave without trying to explain. I was hurt because you were going back to Josh so I didn't try and make you understand. I've been sending you mixed signals for months. One minute I want you, well, every minute I want you and then I'm pushing you away."

Beth makes a face at him. "Don't give me that. You know good and well, I've never been afraid of you. I may have had some reservation before the desert but none since. As for vampires in general, they're no different than humans in one respect. Some of them are terrible, some of them are wonderful and most of them fall somewhere in the middle. You can't lump vampires together anymore than you can humans." Beth looks down into her coffee cup. "You're right about Sara. That scared me a lot. That's why I went back to Josh, because I was afraid, not because I loved him and not you. If it had been because I loved him I'd still be there and not here, where I belong."

Mick can't help but smile when he hears her say this is where she belongs.

Beth continues. "The more I thought about Sara though the more I realized that what happened to her had to be the exception certainly not the rule, otherwise there wouldn't be any of you left. My reporter sense wants to know often this actually happens. It's so heartbreaking though I'd hate to ask anyone."

She tilts her head to the side and looks at him. "I will accept your apology though for pushing me away. You're right about the mixed signals. Every time I'm in a room with you I know you can hear my heart flutter, my pulse racing and what do you do, you stand there with your hands in your pockets. You could give a girl a real inferiority complex."

He laughs. "Believe me Beth, it's not because I don't want you."

Beth's cheeks start to turn a little red. "Look I'm finally past the Sara freak out. I feel terrible for her but I'm not afraid anymore. Mick, we can't keep doing this to each other, one or the other of us always running. It has to stop. We have to make some decisions about this thing between us. Either we are in it together all the way or we're not. No more running."

Mick nods. "Agreed, no more running."

Beth takes a deep breath "One last thing, I want the option to be turned. I'm not sure when but if I come to you, I don't want any arguments. It has to be my choice."

"Ok." Mick smiles

"Ok? Just like that? Ok?" Beth is skeptical that he really means it.

Mick nods. "But I won't do it." He holds up his hand before she can argue. "It's not that I don't want to, baby, believe me I would love to be your sire. Lovers do most of the turnings for a reason, but it's better for the person being turned if someone does it who is over a couple hundred years old. I would do it if I were older."

She looks at him curiously "Josef?"

He growls at her. "NO" and wonders how to explain this to her. "Not because of Sara. No,…. because I couldn't take it. I told you about the relationship between a sire and newly turned vampire. Most times it's very close and very, dependant. Some sires can be very possessive. I ah…think any male turning you would probably be a disaster for everyone concerned. Between a very territorial lover" he smiles at her "and a over protective male sire, it could really be bad. I was thinking of someone else."

"Who?"

"Actually you met her for an instant tonight. Her name is Victoria. She's The Cleaner." He can see Beth trying to think back to the night's events to recall Victoria.

"Very tall beautiful lady, dressed from head to toe in black leather? Tends to look surprised when smaller blond type humans hug her?"

Mick laughs. "You didn't." Beth nods. "Sorry I missed that." He says.

"Yes, that's her. I think she's about the same age as Josef, maybe a little older. As you pointed out it's not polite to ask women their age. I think if you spent some time with her you would like her. She tends to cut to the chase. Not many people even know her real name. I have a closer relationship with her because she and Josef are old friends. I think she would do this for us, when and if you decide."

Beth marvels at this conversation. "I don't mean to look a gift horse in the mouth but, how did you finally get from where you were on this subject to where you are now? I thought you would really dig your heels in."

"Funny enough, Coralline finally made me realize what a real monster is and that it isn't me or Josef or you if you decide to join us…. and I can't live without you ever again. If at some point your willing, I want you by my side forever."

Mick smiles and stands up. He goes over to her on the couch. "Move over" he tells her. Mick sits in the corner and she wiggles back and snuggles up close to him.

"Much better." She says.

God she smells so good. "You asked me once about the sex thing…I think we need to talk about it…"

She smiles up at him and slowly runs her tongue across his jaw line. He closes his eyes feeling the rush of sensations running through him. Mick lets out a small groan and hugs her close.

"Beth please, we need to talk about this. I don't want to chance hurting you."

"I'm sorry. You're right. Keep going."

"Ah…I also think we need to talk about Freshies."

Beth narrows her eyes at him a little. "Are you going to start live feeding like Josef?"

"Not like Josef, no…. Maybe I could find a willing blond now and then to donate, but no, not like Josef." He smiles at her.

"Then what?"

Mick thinks back to N.Y. and the short discussion he had with Josef about making love to Beth. Trying to decide where to start this conversation. "Very seldom is a freshie ever harmed. For one thing, he or she knows what to expect."

"Wait, wait, wait. You said he or she. I've never seen any he's just she's."

"That's because your only contact with vampires and freshies seems to be through male vampires who in this case prefer females. Yes…. they come in the male and female varieties."

She laughs "hhhhmmmm…. food for thought." Now it's his turn to narrow his eyes at her.

He continues, "The feelings both parties get from the feeding tend to be ah, relaxing but also erotic and very intimate. Josef thinks my objections to live feeding have something to do with taking blood from a living human. I admit part of it is that but it's also that it's about the act itself. Josef would never understand this but it's so intimate that I would rather not do it with a stranger. Someone offers up his or her blood it should mean more than snack time at the buffet table."

"They aren't allowed to participate if they are afraid and any vampire can tell when there is fear coming off a volunteer. Fear and anxiety is a real problem around a vampire. We are still predators and when that part of us smells either it can allow the predator to take over. Also along the same lines is that bloodlust brings on biting and both are sort of part of vampires when they make love. If who ever is donating is scared it can send the predator into a frenzy."

Mick squeezes his eyes shut, hoping he's not scaring her. "Compound that with the volunteer trying to get away and there is a real possibility of death if a artery gets cut."

Beth runs her tongue across his jaw again. "I'm not afraid. I wasn't afraid in the desert and I'm not afraid now."

"I know you're not. But the fact remains you've never had one of us bite you on the neck under normal conditions…. well, as normal as all of this is. The whole experience will be different than what you did for me in the desert. What I would like to do is feed just a bit a few times first to get both of us comfortable with this part of what makes me a vampire."

Beth smiles at him, sweeps the hair back from her neck and says, "I'm all yours."

"There is only one problem with that." And he gently runs his fingers across the dark circles under her eyes. "You need to feel better before I take a drop from you." She starts to protest. "Don't even start. I can tell by looking at you and smelling you that you haven't been taking care of yourself. You're on the verge of being anemic and you apparently aren't sleeping. You said on the phone you were having nightmares. What's that about?"

"I knew it, I look like hell and you don't want me."

He hugs her close. "You know better than that. You do not look like hell. You are beautiful and I want you all the time but we have to take this slow. I don't want you hurt and that means if you are going to let me take blood from you, that you take care of yourself and eat and get some sleep. Now tell me about the nightmares."

"They started right after I broke it off with Josh and started to open my heart and emotions to you. Josef said I started having them about the same time he heard you'd been seen with Coralline. I don't remember what the nightmares were about. If I did sleep I just couldn't sleep soundly. I would wake up crying and calling out for you. I knew you were in trouble but I didn't know from what or where you were. It was terrible. The last one before Josef came to see me was the worst. I woke in the morning holding my knees and rocking back and forth on the bed. I have no idea how long I was like that."

"Oh, Beth, I'm so sorry. Now that I'm home it will be ok." He's absently rubbing her back and she's practically purring. "If you have anymore I need you to tell me…ok?"

She nods and looks down at her hands. She looks up shyly at him. "So, when do you think we can ah…practice?"

"Maybe a couple of days. I don't have any food around here so I ordered you a pizza but I would much rather see you eating a steak and a salad. If you're going to be here, even more, we need to do something about the food thing. I don't want you living off take out. I know you love Chinese take out, but baby, you can't live on that and coffee."

"oookkkk…I suppose I can give up Chinese take out and coffee, if it means great sex with my vampire boyfriend."

He laughs. "You don't have to give it up, you just can't exist on it. Despite what Mr. Wu tells you, Chinese take out is not a food group."

Beth smiles "A very territorial lover, huh?"

"Very." He replies.

Beth snuggles up next to him and sighs…"Ok, but can I eat the pizza later? It's pretty late. I'm so relaxed now I really think I could sleep pretty well. It would be nice to do it without the nightmares."

Mick smells the pizza coming down the hall. "Sure. Sit here for a minute and let me pay for the pizza. Then I'll come back to you. I have an idea."

Mick takes care of the pizza guy and takes it into the kitchen. He comes back and picks Beth up in his arms. "I actually have a real bed upstairs that no one has ever used. You and I'll go up there and I'll hold you until morning. I'll take you home so you can get cleaned up and go to work and I'll come back and hit the freezer. How does that sound?"

"Very nice." Beth says with a smile.

He carries her up stairs and gently lays her on the bed. She starts to strip off her shirt. Mick grabs her hands and points a finger at her. "You have to behave. You climb under the covers and I'll sleep on top and for gods sake leave your clothes on…for my sake…. please." he begs

"Damn." She says with a smile. "Ok, if it's the only way I can get you in a bed, that will have to do for now."

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	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Owned by CBS….not mine…entertainment only…love the show.**

**This is rated M for language most of the time, sex and violence some of the time.  
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"_Damn." She says with a smile. "Ok, if it's the only way I can get you in a bed, that will have to do for now."_

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Beth runs around her apartment trying to get ready. As usual she's behind schedule. A late breaking news flash early this morning needed to be reported on. It was about a house up in the hills, which caught fire the night before. It had been contained and no one was hurt. Fire investigators said it was an abandoned house that had faulty wiring. The timing of the report had thrown her whole day off but she was glad to report that particular new flash. Mick had finally told her all that had gone on up at Coraline's house and she was more than happy that there would be one less reminder to haunt him.

Finally she is done getting ready. She stops in front of the mirror to see the overall effect. Thank goodness the dark circles are gone from her eyes. She has a wicked smile on her face. Mick may have decided to wait till she gets her strength back but she is going to make it as tough as she can. She left her hair down. She hates to cover her neck but she knows how much Mick loves to feel her hair. She is wearing a red muslin peasant dress. It flows around her airily in the warm summer night. Underneath she has on very little. The dress isn't see through but she is sure he will get the idea in a hurry. She puts on a pair of sandals and she is ready. Because he is so concerned about restoring her health that he has taken her to dinner every night and then he makes her breakfast every morning. Pretty good cook for a guy who doesn't eat. She knows he is concerned about her health and would have done this no matter what but she also knows that since they have decided to step up their relationship getting her stronger is priority one for more than her health. This has been going on for a week. She laughs to herself. He never worried quite this much when she lived on take out and coffee before. She has to admit though that the nightmares had pushed her health over the edge. Thank goodness they were gone.

There is a jazz concert in the park and after that they will go and have a nice dinner, well she'll eat and he'll watch her and they will just talk and enjoy each others company. She doesn't remember ever being so happy.

Beth hears a knock on the door. She doesn't know why he bothers. She gave him a key. She runs to the door and opens it. Mick is standing there on the other side a large bouquet of flowers in his hand.

She smiles. "Awe you brought me flowers. Come on in. Let me get a vase so I can put them in water."

Mick watches her move. He sees the way the dress flows around her and he can smell her scent in the air. He's convinced she's trying to slowly torture him to death. Every night this week he has taken her to dinner and she has worn something so tempting he can barely manage to contain himself. She's trying to kill him. He's sure of it. Great way to go, watching the way her body moves under the barest of fabric. He thinks of lifting the hem of her dress to see just what she does or doesn't have on. So far he's managed to resist the temptation only because of her health but tonight…. tonight there might just be a change of plan.

They head for the park. They find place on the grass and Mick spreads a blanket out on the lawn. The music is wonderful, the night warm and the company perfect.

Beth tries to find a way to get Mick to talk about his own music. She knows he quite playing his guitar after Coralline turned him and she would like to see if she could get him to take it up again. She's seen his huge vinyl and CD collection and knows that music is important to him.

After the music is over for the night, they wander to a neighborhood bar around the corner from Mick's apartment, which has surprisingly good food. It's a small family run operation. Beth has a nice light dinner; Mick has a couple of single malts while she eats. They sit and talk for hours not even realizing how late it is getting. Finally the owner comes over and tells them it's time to go. They apologize for keeping her "Happy people are always welcome here." She tells them.

They get to Mick's door and he nods at her. Beth laughs and takes out the electronic key he gave her. She loves pushing that button. It's silly but fun. The door swings open.

When the door opens Mick looks at Beth and rolls his eyes and keeps walking in. Beth is puzzled and then sees why Mick rolled his eyes at her. Josef is sitting in the chair with a glass of blood and scotch in hand.

"Josef." Is all Mick says.

Josef knows he's interrupted there evening but he doesn't plan to stay long.

Mick is busy pouring himself a drink. He looks at Beth "By the way Josef, ratted you out."

"About what?"

"You don't look out the peephole before you open the door. I had the flowers I brought you in front of it so even if you had looked, which you didn't, you wouldn't have been able to see who was out there. You should have said something before you opened the door."

Beth groans. "I take it you two are on good terms again. How nice." She says the last a bit sarcastically but she really is glad they have worked things out.

Josef smiles at her. "I have a vested interest in seeing you stay very healthy. I don't need the distraction it presents when you two are in turmoil. I saw your report this morning. Good job."

Mick is getting impatient. "Josef, is there something else you wanted?"

"Uh, yea, I never did get to properly thank Beth for Sara's diary." Josef walks over and takes Beth's hand and kisses it. "Thank you very much. You have no idea how much that means to me."

Beth leans over and kisses Josef on the cheek. "I'll say a prayer that some day you'll get a chance to introduce us."

Josef hugs her. Mick starts to growl and Josef laughs as he lets Beth go. "Ok, I'm out of here." Josef passes Mick and as he goes by he tosses Mick the electronic key he'd given Josef a long time ago. I have a hunch I should probably start knocking. Beth starts to blush. Josef laughs and walks out the door.

Mick closes the distance between them. "Beth I'm serious about the door. You really need to look and see who is out there."

Beth is getting exasperated with the door discussion, yet again. "What, on earth is it with you men and my door?" She walks farther into the apartment. "Well, maybe I should have one of those camera thingies put in front of my front door so I always know who's out there like you do."

"You could do that." He says slowly. "Or you could just use this one."

She slowly turns around and looks at him. "Mick St. John, are you asking me to move in with you?"

"Oh yea…" he says with a smile.

Beth smiles at him and deliberately walks over and takes his hand. She backs him up to the couch. She puts her two hands in the middle of his chest and pushes him down so he's sitting. She kicks off her shoes and then she sits down on his lap. Mick can hear her heart racing. He decides that the smell of lilac's and desire has never smelled quite so delectable. Beth wiggles around to get comfortable. Mick groans as he feels her grinding against him. "Comfortable yet?" he asks

She smiles innocently at him and then frowns a bit. "Well, not quite." And again she starts moving herself against him as she pretends to try and get comfortable. Mick lets out a growl and grabs her by the waist. "Beth…"

Mick looks at her very seriously. "What do you think your doing?"

She leans into him and kisses him. He puts his arms around her and pulls her closer. Beth breaks the kiss and says, "Kissing you. That's what I think I'm doing."

"Very nice it was too. How about we try something else…..if you want."

Beth's voice is husky with desire. "Anything you want."

Mick places his hand behind her neck and he moves her head to the side. She's watching him through her lashes. He gently moves her hair so it falls back behind her shoulder. Mick has all his vampire senses tuned into her. If she has any trepidation about what he's going to do he wants to be able to sense it even if she can't bring herself to voice it. As far as he can tell she wants this as much as he does.

Mick's eyes turn a crystal white and his fangs come to the forefront. Slowly he moves in and places gentle kisses down her neck to her shoulder. He starts to nibble and lick her neck. She's moaning deep inside. He finds the pulse point in her neck and teases it with his tongue. "Oh Mick." She moans. "Please baby, please."

He starts to speak and his voice comes out sounding hoarse. "Tell me what you want. Tell me this is what you want."

"Oh, god yes. Please bite me. Drink me in. I want you so much."

That is all he needs to hear. He sinks his fangs into her neck and drinks her. She tastes intoxicating. This is better than anything he can imagine. The love and desire for him is flowing through her blood. It makes her taste so much better than any thing he's ever had. Her blood is a head rush for him. So much so that he pulls his fangs out after just a couple minutes. He licks the wounds till they stop bleeding.

Beth moans and looks at him. Her eyes are deep with desire. "More?" she says and leans her head to the side.

"So does that mean you liked it?" He clicks his teeth together at her.

She giggles and says. "Oh, yea. You didn't take very much from me. How about we try that again? You know, practice, practice, practice."

Mick watches her with a big grin on his face. "What?" she says.

"Truthfully I did not quite expect this reaction. I was sure you were just being stubborn at your instance that you didn't fear me...this. It's one of the reasons that I thought we should do this a few times before we…made love."

"Annnndddd?"

He laughs. "I've got every sense I have tuned into you and you have absolutely no qualms about this at all. You really want this and I love you."

With a smile on her face, once more she turns her head exposing her neck to him and says "More?"

He lets out a low growl and stands up with her in his arms. "Later." He lets her feet down slowly so she is standing next to him and he gathers her up in his arms and kisses her deeply. He feels her body pressing against him, her arms encircling his neck. He feels the Barest of fabric separating his hands from her body. His hands begin to roam over her. He cups her bottom and presses her close to him.

She groans into his mouth. Knowing that her body is responding to him in this way excites him even more. He breaks the kiss and spins her around in his arms. He's hugging her from behind and softly he says. "Upstairs, bedroom, now"

She hears the desire in his voice. She turns to him and smiles seductively. He stands at the bottom as she walks and watches her go up the stairs. He loves watching her move. Once she's at the top he takes the stairs two at a time. When he reaches her he gathers her into his embrace. He kisses her deeply. He walks her backward through the bedroom door never breaking the kiss. The neckline on the dress is some sort of stretchy material. He kisses his way down her neck. The dress easily moves out of the way as he works his way down her shoulder.

Slowly he pushes the dress down her shoulders, down, down until it's around her ankles. She smiles and kicks it across the room. Mick looks down at her in nothing but her white lace thong. "I knew it." He says huskily.

She gives him a questioning look.

"You haven't been wearing very much under those dresses." He groans. "It's slow torture watching you and not touching you."

She gives him a knowing smile. "You made the rules. You never said I had to play fair."

He growls. "Now it's my turn to get even"

He takes her in his arms, kissing her, his hands roam her body. He breaks the kiss and he starts to taste her all over. Kissing here and nipping there.

She grabs at his shirt and he bends his so she can pull it off him.

He hears an intake of breath from her when her nipples brush his chest. "Oh my god. More please." He dips down and kisses her breasts. Moaning she pulls at his jeans. He gets the message and sheds the rest of his clothes.

"Now you're the one who's over dressed." He says with a growl. He lays her down on the soft bed and kisses her hip, nibbling his way around the edge of the lace thong. He can smell her desire. He gently slips a finger under the lace and dips it in between her legs. She's so soft and wet. He wants her to feel all the pleasure he can give her. He gives the material a jerk and it floats to the floor. She opens her legs wide for him. "Oh, yesyesyes" He explores her with his fingers and she bucks against his hand. He can hear her breath coming in quick pants. He can feel her coming around his fingers.

He looks up at her and she smiles at him. She turns her head bares her neck to him and says. "More?"

"Oh, baby, very soon." He lies above her. She wraps her legs around him and he easily moves inside her. She lets out a gasp and stays very still for a minute. Slowly she starts to move against him and he lets her take the initiative until he knows she's comfortable and he begins to move with her. She stops him for just a second and before he knows it he's on his back and she's riding him from above. He feels like he's buried inside her, so deep inside her. They find a rhythm and soon he can feel her so close. Her insides are starting to contract around him.

He doesn't think he can take it any longer. Quickly he rolls her over and she finds herself under him. She wraps her legs around him. They never break the rhythm. Her hair falls back exposing her neck. She sees what he's watching and she turns her head. "Yes, baby. Please drink me in."

He licks her neck and then sinks his fangs and tastes her. The knowledge of how much she loves him and wants him make him explode inside her.

Beth can't believe anything feels this good. She feels no pain, only pleasure. It's absolutely the most amazing thing in the world. She cries out his name as he drinks her. She feels him coming inside her and she follows him over the edge. She's sure nothing has ever felt this good.

Mick pulls his fangs back and gently licks her wounds until the trickle of blood stops.

Finally both of them find their breath returning to normal.

Mick can hear Beth quietly laughing. "What's so funny?" he asks

"Nothing. I just had no idea that anything or anyone could feel this good and make me this happy. I love you so much."

Mick kisses her. "And I love you. You never did answer me about moving in."

She arches an eyebrow at him questioningly.

His eyes get a little unfocused as if he's looking off into the past or the future. "I know, I know, I just need to hear you say it."

Beth knows that because of what his life has been like over the last 50 years he needs to hear the words of assurance. "Yes, my love. I will move in with you. I would love nothing more than to live with you forever."

He refocuses on her and gathers her into his arms. Softly she hears him sigh. "forever."

**The End**

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**I want to thank everyone who gave me a review. It really does make you feel like there is a reason to finish the story or write another one. Thanks again. **


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